One of our recent CBW submitters had an interesting conversation with his girlfriend after she saw him up on The S Spot.
She told him that if he was going to be submitting pics to be displayed to the world like this, he’d needs start taking better quality pix. He says: “Then with the help of her friend, they laid out exactly what I need to do to, including critiques of photos I was taking with their advice. I’ve got to say it was a pretty surreal night and I owe it all to you. Thanks.”
With Cocktoberfest coming up very soon we’re going to be needing a nice stock of photos from you – my male and my female readers – so this seems like a perfect time to go over some tips for taking good photos for your goodies. ^_^
1. The camera: I do get a few photos sent in from people’s cell phone cameras and usually the quality is pretty bad on those. If all you have is the camera on your cell, we do appreciate the submission, but if you have access to anything better… well obviously the picture is going to turn out better. The best advice I can give the cell phone photographers is to make sure everything is well lit – that will help with the grainy-ness a little. Which brings us to our next point:
2. Lighting: there’s actually a lot you can play around with here. If the room is well lit you won’t need to use a flash, which can be good because the flash can occasionally make things look shiny or red – unless that’s what you’re going for, which can be cool too. Using a flash does let you play with shadows a little bit; like if, for example, you’re standing near a wall to photograph your dick from the side, the flash will cast a shadow on the wall.
3. The Presentation: here is where you can really get creative. Think about what you want to show us: a sneaky shot with your wang hanging out of your fly, all nonchalant? A shot of your vag spread wide for all to see? A shot of you cock next to something for comparison (a banana? a beer? in a pint glass?)? You using a toy? Or just your dick, as hard as you can get it?
For this last one, I do have a couple of tips: jerk off a little (really get that blood flowing); pick a good angle (consider setting your camera on a hard surface nearby and using the timer rather than trying to look down at it); and don’t grab your dick with your fist (unless your aim is to provide a mid-wank shot) because that can make you appear shorter – instead, try holding just around the base with a just few fingers. If you’re really having trouble with angles, get a friend or lover to help you out by holding the camera for you.
4. Cropping: sometimes the best way to get a good shot is to set your camera further away and try posing with your whole body (standing up flexing, sitting/laying down wanking, on all fours from behind, etc) – you can always crop the photo later before you send it to me. And speaking of cropping…
5. Location: picking a cool location for your photo can be part of the fun, you could use your office, your bedroom, the kitchen, the backyard, you car, anywhere really! But keep in mind that I don’t want you to get arrested. ^_~ If you want to be more anonymous, you should keep identifying objects (like a mug with your name on it, or unique room decor, etc) out of the shot. This is where cropping or posing in front of a blank wall or hanging sheet can come in handy.
I hope that gave you all some good tips for taking some sexy photos for upcoming CBW‘s AND for Cocktoberfest ^_^ I’m looking forward to seeing what you send in! (Oooh and don’t forget the unspoken 6th rule – there’s bonus internet points for creativity ^_~.) There’s a few more tips over on my post about making your own porn too!
You can send your submissions to the.s.spot(at)gmail.com 
[P.S. Don't forget that people in CBW and Cocktoberfest pictures MUST be 18+ years of age and all photos must be taken and submitted with consent.]
More on lighting, from what little I know of portraiture: shoot with two light sources if at all possible (a main light and a backlight on the opposite side), and use softer light sources (for instance, lights pointed at a wall and not pointed directly at you) for a ‘softer’ feel and better depth of color and detail – this is why they have those big white reflectors when you get your portrait taken. Doing a single light source can be tricky, but (especially with black and white) it can really bring out lines and ruggedness, as in this random Flickr photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/30235101@N06/3340300731/
Does no one click my hot links? They’re there for a reason!! Julien, I have more lighting and photo tips in the very last hotlink I posted – see if you can spot it.
A bit late, I know – but just a tip for the guys who are having trouble staying hard in the transition from jerking off and getting that perfect photo.
Once you get nice and hard from jerking off, you don’t have to squeeze your entire dick to keep enough bloodflow until you take your photo. This can be sometimes painful, and actually is not the best way to keep the size, as you’re restricting bloodflow -into- your member, aswell.
Remember it’s a through street. Most the bloodflow actually leaves through the large vein and veins on the top of you shaft, so essentially that is the only place you have to apply pressure, and by using only that area, blood is still slowly flowing in, so you’re actually getting harder!
Just don’t hold it for too long, as that can damage your veins and be slightly painful, too. Use your own judgement, and keep it nice and firm. :)
-Mabel
Wow, hot guy, can we see the rest? :)